How to Get More Customers as a Childcare in Perth

Introduction

Most childcare centres in Perth still rely on word of mouth and the occasional Facebook post to fill their enrolment spots. And honestly? That approach worked fine a decade ago.

But it's not 2015 anymore.

In 2026, 97% of parents search online before choosing a local childcare provider. They're Googling "childcare near me," reading reviews, scanning websites, and comparing centres before they ever pick up the phone. If your centre doesn't show up in those searches, you're invisible to the families who need you most.

The reality is brutal: there are over 700 childcare providers across Perth competing for the same pool of families. New centres open every year. Government subsidies shift. Parent expectations climb. And the centres that win aren't necessarily the ones with the fanciest playground equipment — they're the ones that show up first when a parent types a search into their phone at 10pm.

This guide walks you through exactly how to get more customers as a childcare in Perth — step by step, no fluff, no jargon. Whether you run a single family day care or manage multiple long day care centres across the metro area, these strategies work. We've used them to help childcare operators across Perth generate consistent enquiries without burning cash on ads that don't convert.

Let's get into it.

TL;DR

• This is a step-by-step guide to getting more customers as a childcare centre in Perth
• Covers Google Maps, reviews, your website, content marketing, and AI search optimisation
• The average childcare booking is worth $100–$150 per day per child — multiply that across 50 weeks and even one extra enrolment changes your year
• You can DIY the basics or bring in professionals to accelerate results
• Every strategy here is proven, practical, and built for the Perth market

Step 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most powerful free tool available to any childcare centre in Perth. When a parent searches "childcare near me" or "childcare in Joondalup," Google pulls results from GBP listings — not websites. That map pack at the top of the search results? That's where you need to be.

If you haven't claimed your profile yet, go to business.google.com and do it today. Verification usually takes a few days via postcard or phone call.

Once claimed, here's how to optimise it properly:

Business name: Use your actual registered business name. Don't keyword-stuff it with "Best Childcare Perth" — Google penalises that.

Categories: Your primary category should be "Child Care Agency" or "Day Care Center." Add secondary categories like "Preschool" or "Before and After School Care" if they apply.

Description: Write 750 words that naturally include phrases like "childcare in Perth," your suburb, the age groups you serve, and what makes your centre different. Mention your NQS rating if it's strong.

Photos: Upload at least 20 high-quality images. Show your indoor and outdoor play areas, meals, educators interacting with children, and your entrance. Parents want to see what their child's day looks like. Centres with more than 20 photos get 35% more clicks than those with fewer.

Services: List every service — long day care, before and after school care, vacation care, kindergarten programs. Include pricing where possible.

Posts: Publish weekly updates. Share enrolment availability, events, or educational tips. This signals to Google that your listing is active.

Hours and contact info: Triple-check these. A wrong phone number costs you enrolments you'll never know about.

We've seen childcare centres in Perth double their monthly enquiries within 90 days just by properly optimising their Google Business Profile. It's that impactful. For a deeper walkthrough tailored to your sector, check out our guide on local SEO for childcare in Perth.

Step 2: Get Your Website Ranking for Local Keywords

Your Google Business Profile gets you into the map pack. Your website gets you into the organic results below it. You need both.

The keyword "childcare in Perth" gets searched hundreds of times every month. But here's what most centre owners miss: parents don't just search broadly. They search by suburb. "Childcare in Scarborough." "Long day care Fremantle." "Best daycare Balcatta." Each of those is a separate opportunity to rank.

Here's your website strategy:

Homepage: Target your primary keyword — "childcare in Perth" — and your main suburb. Make sure your title tag, H1 heading, and first paragraph include these terms naturally.

Service pages: Create individual pages for each service you offer. A page for long day care. A page for before and after school care. A page for your kindergarten program. Each one should target a specific keyword.

Suburb pages: This is where most centres leave money on the table. If you serve families from Stirling, Osborne Park, Innaloo, and Karrinyup, create a page for each. "Childcare in Stirling" becomes its own page with unique content about how you serve that community.

Technical basics: Your site needs to load in under 3 seconds, work perfectly on mobile, and have proper schema markup for local businesses. Most childcare websites we audit fail on at least two of these.

Calls to action: Every page needs a clear next step. "Book a Tour" buttons, phone numbers that are clickable on mobile, and enquiry forms that don't ask for 15 fields of information. Keep it simple — name, phone, child's age, preferred start date.

Don't build a pretty brochure website and call it done. Build a website that ranks, converts, and brings you enrolments every single month. We break this down in detail in our full SEO for childcare in Perth resource.

Step 3: Build a Review Generation System

Here's a number that should grab your attention: 84% of parents trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. For childcare — where trust is everything — your review count and rating directly impacts how many enquiries you receive.

Google also uses reviews as a ranking factor. More positive reviews = higher visibility in the map pack. It's that straightforward.

But you can't just wait for reviews to appear. You need a system.

When to ask: The best time to request a review is during a positive moment. A parent mentions how much their child loves a particular educator. You share a milestone from the child's learning journey. They tell you their child didn't want to leave at pickup. That's your window.

How to ask: Make it stupidly easy. Create a direct link to your Google review page (search "Google review link generator" to find yours). Send it via SMS or email with a simple message:

"Hi [Parent Name], we're so glad [Child's Name] is loving their time at [Centre Name]! If you have 30 seconds, a quick Google review helps other families find us. Here's the link: [link]. Thank you!"

Build it into your process: Set a reminder to send review requests every month. Some centres add it to their enrolment anniversary touchpoint — "It's been 6 months since [child] joined us!" — which feels natural, not pushy.

Respond to every review. Positive ones get a genuine thank-you. Negative ones get a calm, professional response that shows you take feedback seriously. Other parents are reading those responses.

Aim for a minimum of 50 reviews with a 4.5+ star average. That's your competitive threshold in Perth's childcare market right now.

Step 4: Create Content That Attracts Customers

Content marketing isn't just for tech companies and fashion brands. For childcare centres, publishing helpful content on your website does two things: it brings new visitors from Google, and it builds trust before a parent ever contacts you.

Think about what Perth parents are searching for:

• "How to prepare my child for daycare"
• "What to look for in a childcare centre"
• "Best age to start childcare in Australia"
• "Childcare subsidy calculator Perth"
• "Signs of a good early childhood educator"

Each of those is a blog post waiting to be written. And each one positions your centre as a knowledgeable, trustworthy authority.

Here's your content plan:

Publish two blog posts per month. Keep them between 800 and 1,200 words. Answer one specific question per post. Include your suburb and "Perth" naturally in the content where it makes sense.

Create an FAQ page on your website that answers the 20 most common questions you hear from parents during tours. This page alone can rank for dozens of long-tail keywords.

Use real photos from your centre (with parent permission) in your content. Stock photos of children in a suspiciously perfect classroom fool no one.

Share your content on your social channels, in your parent newsletter, and in your enrolment information pack. One piece of content works across multiple platforms.

The centres that publish consistently see compounding results. A blog post written today can bring enquiries 18 months from now. That's the beauty of content — it works while you sleep.

Step 5: Optimise for AI Search (GEO)

This is the frontier most childcare centres haven't even considered yet. But parents are already using ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, and other AI tools to research childcare options.

When a parent asks ChatGPT "What are the best childcare centres in Perth's northern suburbs?", you want your centre in that answer.

This is called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and it matters more every month.

How to get recommended by AI search engines:

Your website content needs to be clearly structured, factual, and detailed. AI models pull from well-organised websites with strong topical authority. Those suburb pages and blog posts from Steps 2 and 4? They feed directly into this.

Get mentioned on third-party sites — local directories, parenting blogs, community pages, and news outlets. AI models cross-reference multiple sources when generating recommendations.

Maintain consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information across every online listing. Inconsistency confuses both traditional search engines and AI models.

We wrote an entire guide on GEO for childcare in Perth if you want to stay ahead of this shift. The centres that move on this now will have a massive advantage over the next 12 to 24 months.

Step 6: Track Your Results

You can't improve what you don't measure. And too many childcare centres invest time and money into marketing without knowing what's actually working.

Here's what to track monthly:

Google Business Profile insights: How many people viewed your profile? How many clicked for directions? How many called? Google gives you this data for free inside your GBP dashboard.

Website traffic: Use Google Analytics to track how many visitors your site gets, which pages they visit, and how they found you. Pay special attention to organic traffic — that's the traffic you're not paying for.

Phone calls and form submissions: Track how many enquiries come in each month and where they originate. Use call tracking numbers if you want granular data, or simply ask every parent "How did you hear about us?" during the first phone call.

Keyword rankings: Monitor where you rank for "childcare in Perth," "childcare in [your suburb]," and your other target keywords. Tools like Google Search Console (free) show you exactly which searches bring visitors to your site.

Review count and rating: Track these monthly. Set targets. If you're at 30 reviews today, aim for 50 within three months.

Review this data monthly. Look for trends. Double down on what's working. Fix what isn't. Marketing without measurement is just guessing.

When to Hire a Professional

Everything in this guide is doable yourself. But here's the honest truth: most childcare centre directors don't have 10–15 spare hours per month to execute it consistently. You're managing staff rosters, compliance requirements, parent communications, and actually running a centre.

Consider DIY if: You have a staff member with some marketing experience, you're comfortable with basic tech, and you have the time to commit weekly.

Consider professional help if: You want faster results, your competition is already investing in marketing, or you've tried DIY and hit a plateau.

At Searchmaxxed, we work exclusively with local service businesses across Perth. Our packages run from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on your centre's size, goals, and competitive landscape. We handle Google Business Profile management, local SEO, content creation, review strategy, and GEO — everything in this guide, executed consistently and professionally.

Get in touch with us for a free audit of your childcare centre's online visibility. We'll show you exactly where you're losing enquiries and what to fix first.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can childcare centres get more customers online?

Optimise your Google Business Profile, build a website that ranks for local keywords, generate consistent reviews, and publish helpful content for parents.

What's the fastest way to get more calls as a childcare centre?

Claim and fully optimise your Google Business Profile. Most centres see increased calls within 30–60 days of proper optimisation.

How much should I spend on marketing as a childcare centre?

Allocate 3–5% of gross revenue. For most Perth centres, that's $500–$2,000 per month for professional marketing support.

Is Google Ads or SEO better for childcare?

SEO delivers better long-term ROI. Google Ads works for immediate visibility but stops the moment you stop paying. Use both if budget allows.

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Ready to stop relying on word of mouth and start filling your enrolment spots consistently? Talk to Searchmaxxed today and find out how we help childcare centres across Perth get found by more families every month.